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As head of the Information Technology Industry Council, Dean Garfield represents tech leaders that include Microsoft, Google, Cisco Systems, Oracle, eBay and Hewlett-Packard. The council's focus is the intersection between public policy and U.S. competitiveness, areas that include education, immigration, trade and taxes. Garfield has worked with Congress and the Obama administration to spur employment, [...]
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While today's headlines are appropriately focused on Japan, North Africa and the Middle East, it is important that we not lose sight of our domestic imperative to drive growth and create jobs. Based on past experience, our divided government may be exactly what is needed to do just that. Our experience in the 1990s suggests as much. Then, Congress and the administration set aside partisan differences [...]
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Obama has recently focused on the need to reinvent American ingenuity, reaching a level of research and development not seen since the space race and connecting “every part of America to the digital age” — all part of our “Sputnik moment.” But none of this is possible without securing the nation’s digital infrastructure. Unfortunately, America’s perception of cybersecurity is stuck in time. Since the [...]
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When it comes to dealing with China, the United States has experienced nothing short of an identity crisis: from big stick diplomacy, to use of (at times) a bigger carrot, to somewhere in the middle. The twenty-one gun salute slated to greet President Hu Jintao upon his arrival in Washington this week should serve as a wake-up call for U.S. policymakers. Indeed, Paul Revere’s words of warning from [...]
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When President Obama meets with business leaders at the White House today, one thing will be clear: The United States is now an economic superpower on the verge of decline. This is not an observation based on casual public perceptions such as the current unemployment rate or tax debates in Washington, but an analytical one stemming from real socioeconomic trends, key performance indicators and the [...]
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The Internet is overdue for an upgrade. We are stuck on version 2.0 when version 4.0 is necessary to take full advantage of the immersive experience and productivity potential of the tools being developed today by the information and communications technology (ICT) sector. Unfortunately, our ability to accelerate forward has long been stymied by process and politics. Hopefully, the strong and balanced [...]
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Regardless of party affiliation, Tuesday's election result offers a clear and incontrovertible message for Washington's power corridors: voters expect (and in many cases, are demanding) consensus ideas and policies that will help limit the size of government, grow our nation's economy and create jobs. Failure to heed this warning will likely mean a repeat of the 2010 cycle, an even more polarized electorate, [...]
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Far too often in Washington, we lose sight of the practical. Essentially, how specific policies stand to impact millions of people and the communities in which they live and work. From health care and energy to technology and innovation, the standard default is analysis and legislative language, not the ingenuity (and vast potential) of a concept or idea. By focusing on the wonky instead of the practical [...]
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As policymakers in Washington ponder next steps for energy and climate legislation, one thing is clear: the federal government has a time-sensitive opportunity to lead by example and embrace what’s already working across multiple industry sectors. Nowhere is there a more relevant example than information and communications technology (ICT), arguably one of the strongest assets we have in our nation’s [...]
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Let's be honest: There is no silver-bullet solution that will immediately stimulate job creation. The signs are everywhere that the economy's growth will be slow: stagnant 9.5 percent unemployment, looming deficits and a sense among many Americans that the worst is far from over. The road ahead will require real leadership and collaboration from the public and private sectors, but recent signs of such [...]
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